Scotrail announces special August timetable with more trains and seats for Edinburgh Festivals

Published: 5th August 2016

Major Scottish engineering project at Glasgow Queen Street to be completed on 7 August.

The High Level platforms and tunnel at Glasgow Queen Street station are due to reopen on Sunday 7 August after engineering work that has been going on since 20 March.

The work in a tunnel approaching the High Level platforms at Glasgow Queen Street station was in preparation for electrification of the main route between Edinburgh and Glasgow from next year.

It involved renewal of a concrete track bed in the tunnel and the lowering of rails to provide electrification clearance. Work was also carried out on the platforms at Queen Street.

The ScotRail Alliance introduced special timetable measures during the work. Many passengers were diverted to and from the Low Level platforms at Queen Street or they were advised to use trains to and from Glasgow Central station. Queen Street station with all its facilities remained open during the works.

New electric trains that are being built by Hitachi will go into service between 2017 and 2019 on newly electrified routes across central Scotland, the most important of which is the line between Edinburgh Waverley and Glasgow Queen Street High Level through Falkirk High.

Extra Festival trains to Edinburgh

Extra trains are to be run for people travelling to and from Edinburgh during most of the Scottish capital’s Festivals month of August.

As well as announcing extra trains, ScotRail has also indicated that it intends to add carriages to some trains to provide more seats for Festivals visitors.

The first extra services start on Friday 5 August, but the main boost is planned to follow the reopening of the Glasgow Queen Street High Level platforms and tunnel on Sunday 7 August, after engineering work that started in March.

Peak trains to and from Glasgow Queen Street will have more seats wherever possible from Monday 8 August. And there will be extra late-night trains from Edinburgh until Sunday 28 August.

Festival Witching hour trains

ScotRail said that extra trains to Glasgow would leave Edinburgh at 00:01 and 00:30 seven nights a week, compared to previous last train time to Queen Street at 23:30 hours from Edinburgh; there would be an extra service to Dundee, additional night-time trains to North Berwick and Garscadden on Fridays and Saturdays, and later services to Glenrothes via Dunfermline on Fridays.

They said:

Julia Amour, Director, Festivals Edinburgh said: “We’re delighted with the announcement of enhanced rail services this August as visitors from across Scotland and the globe flock to the World’s leading Festival City.”

The previous service level of four trains an hour each way between Edinburgh and Glasgow Queen Street High Level through Falkirk High will resume on 8 August. With existing service levels on the Bathgate route through the Low Level platforms at Queen Street, this will give eight trains an hour each way between Glasgow Queen Street and Edinburgh. There are also trains between Glasgow Central and Edinburgh.

This year, for the first time, Borders Railway passengers will be able to get to Edinburgh by rail and return late in the evening during the month of Festivals.

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